Pregnancy: Introduction

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HealthWiki > A Book for Midwives > Pregnancy: Introduction

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In this chapter:

 

In this chapter:

All women need care and attention during pregnancy. This care is usually called prenatal or antenatal care. Prenatal care helps pregnant women be healthier and have fewer problems in birth. Prenatal care should come from the woman herself, from her family and the community, and from a midwife or someone else who is experienced in helping pregnant women.

In some places, midwives only care for women when they are in labor or giving birth, not during pregnancy. This may be because most of the time, people only go to a healer or doctor when they are sick or if something is wrong. Most pregnancies do not cause noticeable problems, so people may not think that prenatal care is important. But most midwives know that women who have good care during pregnancy are more likely to have safer births and healthier babies.

Care in pregnancy has 2 purposes:

1. Observing and listening to the pregnant woman by checking her body for healthy signs and warning signs and by asking her about problems or listening to her questions.
2. Teaching a woman how to have a healthier pregnancy (for example, how to eat a healthy diet and how to avoid harmful things).

Midwives should start prenatal care as soon as a woman knows she is pregnant, and should examine the woman regularly during the pregnancy. These meetings, also called “checkups,” give you more chances to share information and prevent health problems. Seeing a woman regularly helps you make sure the mother is physically and emotionally healthy, and that the baby is growing well. You can notice and respond to problems before they are serious. These visits may also help a woman speak more freely with you about her own concerns and trust you more fully at the birth.

A good goal for most pregnant women is to have 1 checkup each month for the first 5 months of pregnancy, then 2 checkups each month during months 6 to 8, and 1 checkup each week for the last month. Women who have already had 1 or more healthy births may not need as many checkups. Any woman who has warning signs should have checkups more often.

This section is divided into 3 different chapters:

• Chapter 6 explains the changes a woman may go through in pregnancy.
• Chapter 7 explains how to learn about a woman’s health history during the first checkup.
• Chapter 8 explains how to check a woman for healthy signs and warning signs at each checkup.

This page was updated:18 Jul 2024